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Solution requirements:
Test data analysis software to validate compliance to BS EN 14363 in response to the need to test a freight wagon modified by Irish Rail. Reduce time to complete validation and cost of project.
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is one of the worlds leading companies in the rail equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. The companys manufacturing operation in Derby builds passenger rail vehicles for the UK market. The companys test facility in Derby provides independent testing services to rail vehicle owners and operators in the UK, Europe and worldwide. European freight wagons require compliance to a number of rail vehicle ride and safety standards such as the European Standard BS EN 14363. In the past, it took about 160 hours to analyze test data to verify compliance with this safety standard. The data analysis flow typically consists of filtering data, performing frequency analysis, and statistical analysis and generating reports. Bombardier Transportation now uses nCode GlyphWorks test data analysis software to automate this process, reducing the time required to analyze test data from 160 hours to about 20 hours. In addition to saving time, the automated process provides a very high level of assurance that the data analysis procedures required to validate compliance with the standard have been followed to specification. We have substantially reduced the time required to analyze data not only for this customer but for all future customers that require validation to the BS EN 14363 standard, said Wendy Smith, Test Engineer for Bombardier Transportation.
The Bombardier Derby Test Facility Bogie Rotation rig. A new UK passenger train undergoing a bogie rotation test, allowing the design engineers to validate the resistance to rotation between the bogie and carbody.
Importance of testing
Testing plays an important role in the design, development and manufacturing of Bombardier Transportations products. Testing is performed during the development process, in the validation of first-off production vehicles, as part of the quality assurance process after the vehicle enters production, and when vehicles are modified for new markets. The Derby test facility performs static and dynamic testing on all types of rail vehicles by acquiring: stress, acceleration, pressure, torque, displacement, temperature, electrical current and other measurements from a variety of sensors.
Test data is used in many different areas but one of the most important is in the ride and safety certification process required by regulatory authorities around the world. A good example is: BS EN 14363 Railway Applications Testing for the acceptance of running characteristics of railway vehicles Testing of running behaviour and stationary tests, which regulates acceptance tests for wagons in most European Union countries. Other countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom use analogous but different methods for acceptance testing. Rail vehicle manufacturers that build products for global use are required to implement test procedures and data analysis methods that comply with the different standards applicable to each country their products are used in.
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Success Story
GlyphWorks flow Bombardier uses to analyze ride and instability characteristics specific to straight track sections. It starts with a time history input, then channel splitters, different filters for different channels, test section extraction and running statistic calculations.
The Bombardier Derby Test Facility undertaking a vehicle sway test on an Electrostar train. The sway test validates computer model calculations for dynamic vehicle movements on curved track.
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The first step is to extract time histories from the test data consisting of 100 meters of data from curved sections and 250 meters of straight track. A total of 14 kilometers of test data is selected including 40 straight sections and 40 curved sections with each of the time histories going through a low pass filter. An example of the differences between the flows, the channels acquired from the bogie are processed with a particular low pass filter while the vehicle body channels go through a different filter, as defined by the standard.
(Left) Freight wagon from Irish Rail under test, at Dromod Station in the Republic of Ireland, during ride tests.
The easy-to-use scripting tools in GlyphWorks make it practical to automate nearly any test data analysis flow
GlyphWorks flow Bombardier uses to analyze running safety and ride characteristics specific to straight track sections. It starts with a time history input, then channel splitters, different filters for different channels, test section extraction and cumulative frequency analysis, with numeric and pictorial outputs.
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We have confidence in our ability to develop scripts to meet other standards as may be required by our global customer base. The ability to automate much of the test data analysis process using GlyphWorks, for many different types of analysis, frees up our engineering test team for more productive tasks and helps reduce the cost of developing new rail vehicles and qualifying existing vehicles for new markets
-Wendy Smith, Test Engineer for Bombardier Transportation
About us
nCode products are provided by HBM, a world-wide technology and market leader, offering products and services across the entire measurement spectrum, from virtual to physical. Since 1982, nCode is the leading brand for durability and data analysis solutions. Its technologies help customers understand product performance, accelerate product development and improve design. The power and ease of use of HBM technologies is a direct result of its world-class development process, expertise and in-depth experience of a broad range of industries. nCode product development is ISO9001 certified. Product support is available through HBM-nCode offices in Europe, North America and Asia.
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